Episode 83
A strange man appears before the party and states that the party is in his house. Lucius immediately accuses him of being a demon considering everything they've gone through up until that point. * Vahlka asks him to prove it, so Bahamut does by turning them briefly into young metallic dragons. * Lucius asks what he means when he says that he's "not really here", Bahamut explains that he's extended some power in order to talk with the Arsonists. Lucius asks if he lives in the Shaded Valley, but Bahamut says that he wasn't really there either. * Lucius demands to know what happened. Bahamut says that about 50 years ago, there was an impersonator that came to him that he shouldn't have trusted. This causes him to end up somewhere "a hop, skip, and a jump away his sister (Tiamat)". * Godfrey asks if the clerics and paladins under Bahamut's power are being powered by someone else. Bahamut replies that after he was captured, he was told that those under him defected somewhere darker but doesn't know many other details. * Lucius finally asks who Arthur was, referring back to the notes and journal left in the estate. Bahamut confirms he was Lucius' father and that he was once a paladin. About 50 years ago, as he was trying to find out about the weakening of dragonkind and his own powers, was ambushed by the same people who captured Bahamut and cursed to guard the door so assure no one could find out what happened. He is understandably crushed at this revelation. * Olivia wonders about the last Scale War and how they defeated Tiamat the first time. Bahamut says that they "fought her, like a dragon", which is wonderfully specific. The god goes on to mention about how mortal people are some of the most powerful creatures and can do the most out of anyone. * Bahamut offers to show them where he's at, as the person who originally captured him had no means of keeping him long-term and that if she tried he would've escaped already, so she gave him over to one of her colleagues. He snaps his fingers and the party is shown a vision of a web-covered setting, full of gnarled trees and mountainous terrain. Instead of sky, there is also an orb of webbing and a massive dragon suspended from the ceiling. It's the Demonweb Pits. * Vahlka, while terrified, agrees to help Bahamut almost instantly before anyone else agrees to. Eventually everyone follows suit. * Bahamut tells Vahlka that he understand she isn't a paladin anymore and that he could do something to help, but that he isn't going to force her to take an oath. Vahlka is somewhat hesitant as "no one becomes a paladin just for magic". * Andrith says while she wants to help, she can't go into the Abyss. The Arsonists assure her that she's not a coward, and can be help elsewhere if not directly. * Olivia asks Bahamut how to break someone's bond to a god if they didn't want it to be broken. Bahamut explains that he and other, powerful gods are capable, but that if the vessel is unwilling that it's highly likely that they'll die. He mentions there is, however, a man nearby to the plane of the Abyss in another layer that might be able to help but the directions there are complicated. * Godfrey asks about the silver dragons, Bahamut elaborates that metallic dragons are affected by the weakening of his powers just like the chromatics are tied inherently to Tiamat. When Lucius asks if this is what caused the Stone Plague, Bahamut says that it was engineered by the Demon Queen of Mists and wouldn't have happened if he was "still alive" (for all intensive purposes, Bahamut is considered "somewhat dead" due to his predicament but entirely killing a greater god is extremely difficult). * Godfrey continues to ask how one would go about releasing Bahamut from the Demonweb Pits (if there is an item that's required, etc.), Bahamut mentions that of all the places of the Abyss that it is one of the "most flammable". * Olivia wants to know about the Ring of Storms, Bahamut explains that it's a wall of elder elementals that formed a wall when Tiamat "shattered everything", that elder elementals can be killed and while thought impossible it's apparently been done by the yuan-ti. * Vahlka and Olivia ask about the dragonblades and how to help them, Bahamut instructs them to go to the "city in the north" which Vahlka finds annoying because there's a whole continent above them. * Everyone gets magic items! There's a lot of them so I'm not listing them all here, but the Arsonists spend a long time rifling through Bahamut's treasure with reckless abandon. * The party attempts to figure out where they're going next, which we complicate more than necessary. Deacon mentions that there's some kind of coup in his church in Elchezar and that he needs to get there ASAP. This is further complicated by Andy, who can't teleport, so they have to use the Gate spell. * Valhka asks, "Before you disappear, can I ask you a question that might not have a real answer?" Bahamut replies, "Sure." "Is there room for redemption in justice? Do you ever balance the scales?" "No one's ever too far gone, there is always room for redemption." "Very well, I'll have to believe that. Since it comes from the source itself." * Lucius, with the help of Olivia's inspiration and Guidance, successfully casts the Gate spell into the Shaded Valley! * Lucius is sad, he gets some words of encouragement from Godfrey, and we learn some VERY VAGUE details about his backstory. * The party levels up and disperses somewhat. Lucius asks Godfrey again about the dream that he had which he still gives mysterious answers to, but the warlock expresses that it's of no concern but that he might have to go run an errand at some point. * Everyone decides to go with Deacon to Elchezar and learn that the yuan-ti are plaguing the Chezarian grasslands, but that the city itself is safe due to the Nightwardens closing it off. Olivia is very concerned for her family and sends her mother but doesn't get a response because it's midnight. * Olivia sends her father who's far away (Sri'syr), but is also worried due to lack of response. * Everyone goes to the Watcharium which is a million miles away, and after a brief search for material components Lucius casts Teleportation Circle into Elchezar. * The Arsonists arrive into a school which gives Lucius flashbacks. They leave the surprisingly empty school and leave, only to see Nightwardens everywhere. Oops. * Lucius tries to stealth away, but is immediately accosted by a Nightwarden. He tries to play it off real smooth, saying that they all arrived several days ago and were sleeping in the school (not the dorms), which I'm sure is very convincing. * The Nightwarden isn't convinced at all, so Barkley says that she has an apartment she's not using. The Nightwarden says that she's going to escort them there because she doesn't feel like dealing with them much longer. * Godfrey and Lucius make loud whispers and get yelled at. The Nightwarden notices and asks if they have anything to say, so Lucius lies and predictably fails a deception check. This time, Lucius gets threatened. * They arrive at Barkley's apartment and it's a mess. Desdemona shows up, wants to know what the fuck they're doing there. The party tries to decide what to do and Des shows Barkley of all the "renovations" she's made in Barkley's absence. * Olivia wants to leave ASAP, everyone wants to wait because they can't just walk in there at midnight. * They scry on Olivia's mom, who is sleeping.